Sore Throat Progressing to Embolic Sepsis: A Case of Lemierre’s Syndrome

Abstract

Lemierre’s syndrome is a rare clinical syndrome defined as oropharyngeal sepsis, thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein and septic thombo-emboli. It is typically encountered in young, immunocompetent individuals, with a mean incident age of 20 years. The organism that is most commonly associated is an anaerobic Gram-negative bacterium: Fusobacterium species. The defined treatment course is at least six weeks of antibiotics, with the role of anticoagulation being unclear. The present article documents a case of Lemierre’s syndrome complicated by acute renal failure and loculated pleural effusion in an otherwise healthy 16-year-old patient.